Structure and properties of polyimide films during a far‐infrared‐induced imidization process

The conversion of poly(amic acid) into polyimide (PI) was achieved with far‐infrared radiation (FIR) and conventional thermal treatments. The structure and properties of PI films during different stages of imidization were studied with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, weight‐loss analysis during imidization, tensile property measurements, and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. The effects of the imidization degree, postimidization, and solvent on the thermal and mechanical properties of PI films were quantitatively investigated. The corresponding structural changes were also examined. The experimental results showed that the imidization process proceeded more quickly and more completely in an FIR oven than in a conventional oven. A prolonged FIR treatment at a lower temperature (25–100 °C) accelerated the imidization process. The tensile stress–strain curves had a fanlike distribution with the development of the FIR imidization process and a fishtail distribution with conventional thermal imidization. During FIR imidization, the best tensile properties were obtained at 340 °C, and thermooxidative degradation occurred at about 420 °C. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2490–2501, 2004     

含硫醚结构均苯型聚酰亚胺的合成及表征

以4,4′-二氨基二苯硫醚(SDA)和均苯四酸酐(PMDA)为原料,通过溶液缩聚法-热酰亚胺/化学酰亚胺化的方法制备了一种含硫醚结构均苯型聚酰亚胺.利用高级旋转流变仪建立了在线跟踪反应进程的方法,采用热失重分析仪研究反应条件对热酰亚胺化及化学酰亚胺化法的影响,这些方法的建立为进一步制备高性能的聚酰亚胺提供有效的实验手段.采用小角激光光散射法、红外光谱、元素分析、接触角仪、DSC等方法对聚合物的结构与性能进行表征.结果显示,硫醚结构的引入,可有效改善聚合物薄膜的表面性能,其与铜箔之间的粘附功明显大于传统聚酰亚胺,在无胶挠性线路板应用方面显示出较好的应用前景.所获聚合物的Mw为(6.7±1.6)×104,分解温度均高于560℃;DSC的结果显示所制备的两种酰亚胺化聚合物均具有较高的玻璃化转变温度,相比之下,化学酰亚胺化更有利于获得高酰亚胺化程度的聚合物,产物的玻璃化转变温度也更高.     

Structure and properties of a photosensitive polyimide: Effect of photosensitive group

The photosensitive poly(p-phenylene biphenylteracarboximide) (BPDA-PDA) precursor was synthesized by attaching photocross-linkable 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEM) monomer to its poly(amic acid) through acid/base complexation. The polyimide thin films were prepared by a conventional cast/softbake/thermal imidization process from the photosensitive precursors with various concentrations of DMAEM. The structure and properties of the polyimide films were investigated by small-angle and wide-angle x-ray scattering, refractive indices and birefringence analysis, residual stress and relaxation analysis, stress-strain analysis, and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. In comparison with the polyimide film from the poly(amic acid), the films, which were imidized from the photosensitive precursors, exhibited a better molecular order and microstructure; however, they exhibited less molecular orientation in the film plane. Despite the enhancement in both the molecular order and microstructure, the film properties (i.e., mechanical properties, thermal expansion, residual stress, optical properties, dielectric constant, and water sorption) degraded overall due to both the decrease in molecular in-plane orientation and the formation of microvoids caused by the bulky photosensitive group during thermal imidization. That is, on one hand, the PSPI precursor formation provides an advantageous, direct patternability to the BPDA-PDA precursor, and on the other hand, it results in degraded properties to the resulting polyimide film. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

反相非水乳液法制备聚酰亚胺微球

在N,N-二甲基甲酰胺(DMF)/Pluronic-F127、十二烷基苯磺酸钠(SDBS)/液体石蜡(LP)反相非水乳液体系中,以均苯四甲酸二酐(PMDA)和4,4′-二氨基二苯醚(ODA)为单体合成聚酰胺酸(PAA),采用吡啶/乙酸酐脱水剂,对PAA化学酰亚胺化,并进一步热酰亚胺化,制得PI耐热微球.产物通过红外、热重、扫描电镜表征.结果表明,较高的固含量和良好的乳液分散性有利于PI微球的形成;反相非水乳液体系稳定的配比条件是,VDMF∶VLP为1∶4,MF127∶MSDBS为3:2,乳化剂用量为9 wt%;在此配比条件下,当固含量为20%,热酰亚胺化温度不高于330℃时,可制得分散良好、球形规整、高热稳定性的PI微球,其粒径约为10μm.     

Residual stress and optical properties of fully rod-like poly(p-phenylene pyromellitimide) in thin films: Effects of soft-bake and thermal imidization history

A soluble poly(amic acid) precursor solution of fully rod-like poly(p-phenylene pyromellitimide) (PMDA-PDA) was spin cast on silicon substrates, followed by soft bake at 80–185°C and subsequent thermal imidization at various conditions over 185–400°C in nitrogen atmosphere to be converted to the polyimide in films. Residual stress generated at the interface was measured in situ during imidization. In addition, the imidized films were characterized in the aspect of polymer chain orientation and ordering by prism coupling and X-ray diffraction. The soft-baked precursor film revealed a residual stress of 16–28 MPa at room temperature, depending on the soft bake condition: higher temperature and longer time in the soft bake gave higher residual stress. The stress variation in the soft-baked precursor film was not significantly reflected in the final stress in the resultant polyimide film. However, the residual stress in the polyimide film varied sensitively with variations in imidization process parameters, such as imidization temperature, imidization steps, heating rate, and film thickness. The polyimide film exhibited a wide range of residual stress, −7 MPa to 8 MPa at room temperature, depending on the imidization condition. Both rapid imidization and low-temperature imidization generated high stress in the tension mode in the polyimide film, whereas slow imidization as well as high temperature imidization gave high stress in the compression mode. Thus, a moderate imidization condition, a single- or two-step imidization at 300°C for 2 h with a heating rate of < 10 K/min was proposed to give a relatively low stress in the polyimide film of < 10 μm thickness. However, once a precursor film was thermally imidized at a chosen process condition, the residual stress–temperature profile was insensitive to variations in the cooling process. All the films imidized were optically anisotropic, regardless of the imidization history, indicating that rod-like PMDA-PDA polyimide chains were preferentially aligned in the film plane. However, its degree of in-plane chain orientation varied on the imidization history. It is directly correlated to the residual stress in the film, which is an in-plane characteristic. For films with residual stress in the tension mode, higher stress films exhibited lower out-of-plane birefringence, that is, lower in-plane chain orienta-tion. In contrast, in the compression mode, higher stress films showed higher in-plane chain orientation. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 1261–1273, 1998     

Synthesis of polyimides from N,N′-bis(phenylsulfonyl)pyromellitimide and aromatic diamines

A novel and successful synthesis of polyimide has been performed by the two-step polymerization of N,N′-bis(phenylsulfonyl)pyromellitimide (BPSP) and bis(4-aminophenyl) ether (ODA). The ring-opening polyaddition reaction proceeded in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone at room temperature through the formation of the open-chain polyamide, which was subsequently converted by heating to the polyimide along with the elimination of benzenesulfonamide. The polymerization of BPSP with ODA took place fairly rapidly to give the polyamide having inherent viscosity in the range of 0.6–0.8. The polyamide solution was resistant to hydrolysis, but was somewhat susceptible to imidization reaction. The thermal imidization of the open-chain polyamide occurred far more readily than that of the polyamic acid derived from pyromellitic dianhydride and ODA.     

Structural characterization of silica modified polyimide membranes

Polyimide and hybrid polyimide‐siloxane were synthesized by polycondensation, imidization, and sol‐gel reaction. The polyimides were prepared from pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 4,4‐oxydianiline (ODA) in N‐methyl‐2‐pyrollidone (NMP). Trimethoxyvinyl silane (TMVS) was used as a source of silica. Their surface morphologies, structures and thermal performances were determined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), infrared spectroscopy (IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results showed that the silica particles were finely and rather homogeneously dispersed in polymers. The glass transition temperature (T_g) of hybrid membrane materials increased with the increasing silica content. TGA analysis showed that polyimides were thermally stable with silica. Modified polyimide‐siloxane films, thermal characteristics were found to be better than the polyimide films without silica. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A study of the curing behavior of polyamic acid coated on a Cu or Zn layer

ZnO and Cu₂O nanoparticles can be formed through the thermal decomposition of the complex between Zn or Cu with polyamic acid (PAA), accompanying with the formation of polyimide (PI). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed that the formation of ZnO nanoparticles needs a longer curing time than that of Cu₂O. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) characterization shows that both Zn and Cu will delay the imidization process of PAA. However, the retarding degree of imidization process is higher for Zn than that of Cu. Further investigation showed the structure of Zn–PAA complex is different from that of Cu–PAA, which is the reason for the difference of initial imidization temperature. Thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TG–DTA) characterization agrees well with the results of FT-IR. Also, the thermal decomposition temperature of the polyimide was changed by the involvement of Zn or Cu during curing.     

Synthesis and characterization of thermally stable and flame retardant hexakis(4-aminophenoxy)cyclotriphosphazene-based polyimide matrices

A new approach to the preparation of hexakis(4-aminophenoxy)cyclotriphosphazene (HACTP) based polyimide (PI) matrices is proposed, for improved thermal and flame retardant properties. HACTP was synthesized with good yield. The structure of HACTP was confirmed by various characterization techniques, such as FTIR, NMR, and mass Spectroscopy. Polyimide matrices were prepared by thermal imidization process using HACTP and dianhydrides using N-methyl pyrrolidone as a solvent. The successful formation of HACTP-based polyimide matrices was confirmed by the FTIR. Thermal properties of the PI were analyzed using DSC and TGA techniques. Data obtained from the thermal studies indicate that the HACTP-based PI possesses better thermal and flame retardant properties.     

Influence of temperature and imidization method on the structure and properties of polyimide fibers prepared by wet spinning

A polyamic acid (PAA) based on 4,4′-bis(4-aminophenoxy)diphenyldiamine and 1,3-bis-(3′,4-dicarboxyphenoxy)benzene dianhydride was synthesized. PAA fibers were prepared by wet spinning. Subsequent cyclization of PAA units was achieved using chemical or thermal imidization. The influence of the imidization method and process conditions on the chemical structure, porosity, morphology, thermal and mechanical properties of polyimide (PI) fibers was studied. Thermal imidization was carried out in the temperature range from 60 to 300 °C at different process durations. The degree of imidization of PI fibers was studied by IR spectroscopy. The structure and properties of PI fibers were studied by scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis, and by measuring the stress-strain properties.

     

Formation of new banded spherulites in polyimides

The crystalline morphology and structural development of aromatic polyimides during an optimum continuous thermal imidization procedure were examined by means of polarized optical microscopy and X‐ray diffraction. During thermal imidization, 3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride/1,3‐diaminobenzene polyimide samples formed complicated spherulites, which, in addition to zigzag Maltese crosses, also showed concentric extinction rings, which are characteristic of banded spherulites. The factors affecting the formation of banded spherulites were studied. The initial imidization conditions dramatically affected the formation of the banded spherulite morphology: slow heating (0.5 °C/min) or fast heating (20 °C/min) led to relatively small polyimide spherulites and less identifiable extinction rings. The morphological features were also affected by the molecular weight of the polyimide: higher molecular weight samples showed typical banded spherulites, whereas low‐molecular‐weight samples formed degenerated banded spherulites. In all the spherulites formed in 3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride/1,3‐diaminobenzene polyimides, special zigzag Maltese crosses, instead of normal Maltese crosses, were observed. The relationship between the imidization procedure and the spherulite morphology formation was also studied. X‐ray and Fourier transform infrared together revealed that after several minutes of thermal treatment, the crystallization was nearly complete, with a 42.5% degree of crystallinity; meanwhile, only some poly(amic acid) converted to the corresponding polyimide, with a 27% degree of imidization. The crystalline morphology and structure formed in the initial stage of the imidization process were maintained during the following imidization processing at an elevated temperature. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 1997–2004, 2005     

The effect of film thickness on the depth‐wise chain orientation of rod‐shaped polyimide

Controlling the chain orientation of polyimide is important because it affects the physical and electrical properties of the film. When a polyimide film is thick, the chain orientation has an inhomogeneous distribution along the thickness direction. In this study, poly(amic acids), the precursor of polyimide, with different coating thicknesses are dried, and the distribution of chain orientation in the thickness direction is investigated by measuring the residual solvent content with Raman spectroscopy. The effect of film thickness on the imidization rate is also studied by measuring the depth‐wise degree of imidization at the curing step. With the final cured polyimide film, the depth‐wise chain orientation is quantified by introducing the Fraser distribution function using polarized Raman spectroscopy. The thicker film has a lower degree of in‐plane orientation of polyimide chains, particularly near the substrate. This distribution of polyimide chain orientation in the thickness direction is similar to that of poly(amic acid) after drying. Fast imidization with higher solvent content for thick polyimide retards the formation of a well‐ordered structure with a high degree of in‐plane orientation. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014 , 52, 848–857     

Preparation of ultrathin films of aromatic polymides by vapor deposition polymerization from N-silylated aromatic diamines or aromatic tetracarboxylic dithioanhydride

A novel method for the preparation of ultrathin films of aromatic polyimides was developed through vapor deposition polymerization from combinations of monomer pairs of either N,N′-bis (trimethylsilyl)-substituted aromatic diamines and pyromellitic dianhydride or aromatic diamines and pyromellitic dithioanhydride. Both diamine component and tetracarboxylic dianhydride component were evaporated simultaneously at a stoichiometric molar ratio under vacuum, giving a deposited film on a substrate, which consisted of a polyamic acid derivative formed by the ring-opening polyaddition. The deposit was then converted to polyimide by thermal imidization at a relatively lower temperature, compared with a conventional method using the parent diamine and tetracarboxylic dianhydride. The properties of polyimide ultrathin films such as thermal stability, chemical resistance, and dielectric behavior were almost the same as those of the polyimide films prepared by a conventional method.     

Effect of carbon nanotubes and their dispersion on thermal curing of polyimide precursors

The process of thermal imidization reaction is significant for temperature and time control in the polyimide industry. Here, we report the effect of carbon nanotubes and their states of dispersion on the thermal imidization of the precursor films of polyimide (poly(amic acid)) for the first time. The curing process was followed by measuring Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectra, fluorescence spectra, thermogravimetric-differential scanning calorimeter (TG-DSC) properties and the refractive indices of films. It was found that by evenly dispersing 1 wt% of carbon nanotubes assisted by a dispersant in the poly(amic acid),the full imidization temperature of the polyimide can be reduced from 300 °C to 250 °C. Different states of distribution of CNTs were observed by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and proved that a better dispersion of carbon nanotubes dramatically enhanced the speed of imidization. Moreover, the DSC results showed that lower decomposition temperature of poly(amic acid) could be obtained with more uniform distribution of carbon nanotubes, which means the process of cyclodehydration of the poly(amic acid) was accelerated.     

化学亚胺化程度对正性光敏聚酰亚胺影响

选用2,2′-双三氟甲基-4,4′-联苯二胺(TFDB)与二苯醚四甲酸二酐(ODPA)作为聚合物的基本骨架进行缩聚反应生成聚酰胺酸,再经过化学亚胺化得到可溶性聚酰亚胺(PI)。通过调节2-甲基吡啶在亚胺化试剂中的含量以达到控制酰亚胺化程度的目的,探讨不同亚胺化程度的PI胶的显影性能。结果表明,当n(2-甲基吡啶)∶n(乙酸酐)=1∶5时,所合成的光敏聚酰亚胺的显影性能最优。     

Study of the formation of polyimide from complexes of benzophenonetetracarboxylic acid diester with different diamines. 3. Dielectric study of thermal imidization

Dielectric loss peaks caused by thermal imidization were observed for the three complexes of benzophenonetetracarboxylic acid dimethyl ester (BZPE) with different diamines. The mechanism of the formation of imide rings from complexes with hydrogen bonds and with separated charges was specified. The specific features of thermal imidization of the BZPE·diaminopyridine dimeric complex were confirmed and it was shown that heat treatment of the complex of BZPE with hexamethylenediamine yields a softening polyimide and thermal imidization takes place at lower temperatures.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 3, pp. 534–539, March, 1990.     

Effect of thermal curing on the properties of thin films based on benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride and 4,4′-diamino-3,3′-dimethyldiphenylmethane

The processing of polyimide films from polyamidic acid solutions involves the simultaeous loss of solvent and chemical conversion, and may imply structural reorganization such as orientation or crystallization. The effect of thermal treatment on the thermal, mechanical and dielectric properties of polymer films based on benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride and 4,4’-diamino-3,3’-dimethyl diphenylmethane have been investigated. The thermal treatment of polyamidic acid at different temperatures led to compounds with different degree of imidization; it turned out that the imidization process took place with high speed until 240 °C and then remained constant. The dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), contact angles, and dielectric measurements revealed that the storage modulus and contact angles increased with increasing of curing temperature while the dielectric constant decreased.     

聚酰胺酸结构及其亚胺化的红外光谱分析

利用变温透射红外光谱方法,通过跟踪聚酰胺酸（PAA）的亚胺化过程,对由均苯四酸二酐和4,4′-二氨基二苯醚合成的聚酰胺酸及经过加热亚胺化后生成的聚酰亚胺(PI)的红外吸收光谱进行分析,对聚酰胺酸和聚酰亚胺的红外谱峰进行合理的归属,发现聚酰胺酸在亚胺化过程中有-COO-和-NH+2存在,-COO-中羰基的对称与反对称伸缩振动分别位于1607和1406 cm-1,NH+2的伸缩振动则有3200、3133、2938、2880、2820和2610 cm-1等多个精细谱带。 并根据对-COO-和-NH+2谱峰的归属,提出聚酰胺酸生成聚酰亚胺的机理为聚酰胺酸中COOH的H+转移到聚酰胺酸中的NH上,形成NH+2,然后脱水环化生成聚酰亚胺。     

Preparation of porous polyimide/in‐situ reduced graphene oxide composite films for electromagnetic interference shielding

Herein we report an easy and efficient approach to prepare lightweight porous polyimide (PI)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite films. First, porous poly (amic acid) (PAA)/graphene oxide (GO) composite films were prepared via non‐solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) process. Afterwards PAA was converted into PI through thermal imidization and simultaneously GO dispersed in PAA matrix was in situ thermally reduced to RGO. The GO undergoing the same thermal treatment process as thermal imidization was characterized with thermogravimetric analysis, Raman spectra, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction to demonstrate that GO was in situ reduced during thermal imidization process. The resultant porous PI/RGO composite film (500‐µm thickness), which was prepared from pristine PAA/GO composite with 8 wt% GO, exhibited effective electrical conductivity of 0.015 S m^?1 and excellent specific shielding efficiency value of 693 dB cm² g^?1. In addition, the thermal stability of the porous PI/RGO composite films was also dramatically enhanced. Compared with that of porous PI film, the 5% weight loss temperature of the composite film mentioned above was improved from 525°C to 538°C. Moreover, tensile test showed that the composite film mentioned above possessed a tensile strength of 6.97 MPa and Young's modulus of 545 MPa, respectively. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation and photophysics of polyimide/silica organic/inorganic hybrid composites

In this work, polyimide/silica hybrid composites were prepared by the sol-gel reaction of tetraethoxysilane(TEOS) and the thermal imidization of poly(amic acid) from 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride(BPDA) and 4,4′-oxydianiline(ODA), and their photophysical properties were investigated using a fluorescence spectroscopy. It was found that the intrinsic fluorescence of poly(4,4′-oxydiphenylene-3,3′4,4′-biphenyltetracarboximide)(BPDA-ODA) such as emission intensity and emission wavelength depends strongly on the changes in the molecular conformations during the sol-gel reaction and the thermal imidization. In conclusion, we found that the fluorescence spectroscopy can provide an insight into how the intermolecular or intramolecular interaction of polyimide in the hybrid composite system is affected by the silica contents, depending on the sample states.